Month: November 2015

Thanks to my friend,I registered for IIS this time and absolutely glad I did that. It is a conference aimed at making our country more inclusive for differently abled people. I was not exactly sure what to expect, but I knew there would be talks from inspiring speakers and was looking forward to that

As we reached the venue, it was buzzing with lot of energy and positivity. There were lot of organizations, NGOs, NPOs, representatives and individuals who cared for the society

Each of the speaker was so inspiring as they went about narrating their success story..

Ajit Babu is a young entreprenuer who has celebral palsy, but he rejected job under disability quota and went ahead to be the founder of 3 startups.. The message he had for all is, do not differentiate..they are no differnet from the so called normal people.. All of us have some obstacle in life and we still know how to thrive!!

the most moving story for me, was of Mr.Bhavesh Bhatia, the founder of Sunrise Candles. Coming from a very poor background, he started with selling few candles as a street hawker..with whatever he earned, he wanted to give some means of living to other blind kids like him, who resorted to begging to earn a living.. He showed a way to live a decent life and be self succient to so many blind people through his company!! One thing he stressed is he never asked for any charity/donations and will never want it!! He says give us work and we will work hard and prove that we are no different than others!! Something to learn from his story is that we dont need to have lots of riches to help others, the thought and intention is enough!! And that if have a strong will and work hard, we can achieve our dream! He remebers his father’s words “what if you cant see the world, do something that the world will see you”

Then there were persons like Patu Keswani, currently the chairman and MD of Lemon Tree Hotels. He narrated his story of how he went about hiring differently abled people and now 15% of his employees are from the disadvantaged section of the population. He was saying that it was not easy, as all the training modules had to be revamped to cater to the needs of specially abled. There were many sessions and one-on-ones to be done to the already existing employees to bring a change in their attitude. He mentions that he never wanted it to be charity, each employee was rated based on their performance and everyone was equal. The employees of Lemon Tree showed great satisfaction to be a part of such organization which was so inclusive and that reduced the attrition rate too. My takeaway from his story is that everyone can make a difference, even if your aim is only business and you do not want charity.

Another inspiring speaker was NipunMalhotra, born with arthrogryposis, leading to lack of muscles in arms and legs. The doctors resigned saying he will be living the life of a wooden doll, but he proved them wrong. He is the CEO of Nipman foundation, working for the health, dignity and happiness of persons with disabilities.

Then there is this youngster Kalyani Khona, who created a matchmaking and dating app for differnetly abled – something which is not even considered as important. What she says is if you have an idea, dont think of the hows and whats, take the first step and everything will be alright!! 🙂 the world will be an interesting place only when everyone and everything is different, otherwise it will be boring!! We should learn to appreciate and celebrate the differneces!!

Hans Dalal is the founder of PROWL, works in preserving tigers,safegaurding their territories, taking care of tribals and much much more..as he went about explaining what his team does, I was speechless as to how much a single person can do. We can see the passion in his eyes and words..hatsoff to this man!!

Prahlad Kakkar was also among the speakers..He went about saying how he used his dyslexia to his advantage..as a kid he had difficulty concentrating in classes, wud be day dreaming and now he gets paid to dream and just dream!! He went ahead addressing the audience, that special people are special as they have some gift from God, and we should not try to make them normal like everyone else..

I am not able to write about all the speakers as I could not stay for the entire summit…go ahead and visit their website to know more..

One thing I learnt from all of them is that each one of us have some or the other hurdles and obstacles in life…we should learn to not complain and celebrate life the way it is !!! Appreciate life!! Appreciate people who stand by your side!! Inspite of the bad things happening around, understand that there is still so much good in the world!!! 😊😊

This birthday has been absolutely memorable for me. .right from the night before, till the end of the day, it was full of surprises, wishes, gifts,cakes – If people can get high without alcohol, I was on a high the whole day 😃

The celebrations for me started the day before when my friend came to stay at home for the night 🙂 ..it was so much fun chatting nd catching up on many thngs as she just returned from US.. Then i was locked in a room, when my sister nd friend started making preparations.. The first gift started with such a beautiful surprise – a clay doll which my friend made all by himself after attending some classes. That was the most beautiful gift nd made me feel sooo special 😊😊

As celebrations started – The tiara, the two cakes, pratyu nd mital’s performance for me – was soo much fun.. Then the shower of gifts started.. I dont knw when my sisters discussed all this, when pratyu arranged all this.. She got me 10 gifts on that day, each of them special on their own.. Interesting books, jewelery to go with my dress, “hello kitty” doll, key chain for car, blingy phone cover and another special gift – a story written by pratyu. Its speciality is that it is a fairy tale of us three sisters and my story starting with “once upon a time” and ending with “happily ever after” 😊😊 …it was sooo sweet and special having my very own fairy tale 😃😃 .

Then there was a video compilation of wishes from all my friends which was such a sweet surprise…it was soo much fun to watch and icing on the cake was the wishes from a korean guy which pratyu managed to get somehow (knowing the korean craze we three sisters share :p) thanks to all my friends who sent wishes from far away!! Then the blessings of mom and dad are always special!! After many years, first time I was celebrating without them..definitely missed mom’s special food, which she makes for all of our birthdays..

The day started with the poem posted by my sister for me, it was soo touching and perfect start for the day!! The next day the messages and calls of wishes from friends and relatives, put me in the mood of enthu 😬😛 ..as we reached office, I see another surprise – my cubical was decorated and happy birthday was written by my friends… Then came the next gift, a video compilation of wishes from the volunteers of our weekend classes. They said soo many sweet things about me and it felt so special and touching!! Then there was the surprise cake cutting with all my friends and another gift 😃😃(a digital photo frame with all my photos preloaded) …

When I thought the celebrations are done now and time to get back to work, I got a call from courier guy and when I went to collect, it was a bouqet of chocolates and a teddy sent by my sister from Singapore – another surprise !!😬😬 the day ended with going to temple…coming back home and looking at all the wishes and gifts – I realized how blessed I am to have so many people shower their love and wishes on me..

It felt so special, touching and humbling!! And my little sister who coordinated and arranged all this, she was soo tiny and I practically raised her..I dont know when she grew up so big and now she is my biggest support system 😊😊

This birthday was truly a special one reminding me, each one of us is special in our own way!!

It has been a pretty hectic time for me since last few weeks with lot of office work on my mind and travel last month…even while cooking or sleeping, i cant help but think about it.. I usually love my sleep and am one among those people who feel the best place on earth to be, is ur bed, at the end of a tiring day!! When i watch my lil nephew sleep, i realize how beautifully satisfying it is, to forget everything and sleep like a baby!!! This weekend as I am home for diwali vacation, i have decided, I am not going to abandon my sleep… i miss it so much and am going to make up for it.. 🙂 🙂

My advice to all – all the efforts we put during day time is to have a peaceful sleep..anything and everything can be healed by a good night’s sleep..so never miss it 😀 ..happy sleeping 🙂